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really frustrated and dont want to give up

Hi everyone! I'm new to this group and really hope you all can help. My son is 6 weks old and I have been BFing since birth. His latch is great and he eats really well. That is the problem...I have had to top him of with formula after most feedings to satisfy him. Its like I can't produce enough to fill him up! I'm concerned that as his needs grow, I won't be able to keep up. I have started taking fenugreek in the hopes it will help. Any other suggestions for me? I have also noticed that he goes for 4 days or more without pooping. I often have to give him prune juice (per my pediatrician) to get him to go. Is this normal or can it be related to the formula. I'm really getting frustrated because he often fusses a good bit after feedings and it seems its like he can't get enough. I'm worried because I go back to work in a month and I'm afraid I won't have the milk to supply the daycare with!

Re: really frustrated and dont want to give up

We use anywhere from 1 to 2 oz of formula when he needs more. Overnight he does not need it. It seems he needs it more in the afternoon and early evening. Shortly after this I noticed the span of time between his poops too.

Re: really frustrated and dont want to give up

Oh we have been doing this for 3 weeks now. We also use it if I don't have enough pumped for a bottle and we are away from home. I'm still uncomfortable nursing in public. So I really don't go out unless we have a bottle or I know I can be home before he has to eat again.

Re: really frustrated and dont want to give up

What is making you think he needs more? Is he fussier that time of day even after nursing? That is a really common time to want to nurse constantly, especially at that age. The fact that he doesn't need it overnight makes me wonder if it's not a supply problem, but just a time of day problem. Remember that the more frequently you put him to the breast, the better your supply should be.

What do his poops look like? Are they yellow and soft and seedy? Or are they more firm and darker?

DSD (15), DSS (12), DS1 (10), DD1 (8), DS2 (2), and a new little bean on the way in May 2013.

Re: really frustrated and dont want to give up

OK. Well the first thing that went wrong was your assumption that his constant nursing was a sign of low supply. It's not. It's normal for newborns to literally need to eat around the clock. That is what they need to do to regulate your supply. And you need to let your child have unlimited access to your breast. And that usually means sitting in one spot for most of the day for the 1st 6-12 weeks. It's hard and it's overwhelming but it's TEMPORARY. And it's a huge investment in both his future health as well as your nursing relationship. But to be clear, everyone who is exclusively nursing or has, spends the 1st 6-12 weeks establishing supply. I got up to pee, change diapers and get more food for me. That's it. I didn't even try to start venturing out of the house until the 5-6 week point and even that, at that point was a once a week venture. You set up a nursing station and you EXPECT to stay there. All day.
It's all supply and demand. And right now your supply is being diminished by your skewed demand. Because that is what formula does. It skews your body's natural cues to make milk because your baby isn't sending them. When your child seems not satisfied, the correct thing to do is to flip him. To the other breast. Even if it's his 2nd time on that breast in a sitting. Because if he is still hungry the only way your body get the message to make more milk is for your child to continue to send it that message. If your baby continues to suck than in a few days that breast will make more milk at that feeding time. The OPPOSITE of that is happening right now and it's happening TWO FOLD AT LEAST. Because when your baby comes off hungry and doesn't get put to the other breast, not only does your body miss THAT que to up the milk supply, but now your baby isn't going to demand milk as often as he normally would. Breastmilk is completely and quickly absorbed and your childs stomach now is just slightly larger than a grape. So when EBF he is going to need to eat every 1-3 hours around the clock. But formula is harder on their systems, it's harder to digest and it creates more waste. So Now he isn't going to demand another feed until later than he normally would. So now your body isn't making enough for the initial feed and doesn't start making it for the next feed until later than normal.
So the 1st thing you want to do is eliminate the supplements. See this link in terms of how to do that. http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basi...rease-formula/ And the most important part of this is to continue to put the baby to the breast! And it may be a struggle. Because your child is probably only used to working through one easy let down and then he is used to being able to move to bottle feeding which is even EASIER. But you want your child to be willing to do the work to breastfeed and that means working through multiple letdowns to get you to make more milk. Your breasts are never actually empty. So it's just a matter of making him work through slower letdowns in the beginning.
But it's really important for you to realize that you had no supply issue. Because self doubt is a new breastfeeding mothers worst enemy. Newborn infants feed around the clock. This is entirely the way nature designed it. It's the way that you and your child find your groove as a nursing dyad, and the more contact an infant under 3months old has with their mother the safer they are on all accounts.
And formula while very useful for saving lives when an infant has no mother, is ALWAYS detrimental to the supply and demand balance that mother nature has set up. And I strongly encourage you not to use it casually (like for going out in public) because it is substandard nutrition and truly puts babies at risk every day. And right now it's damaging you supply. You are making milk. Your baby is willing to latch on and drink your milk. You CAN do this. Please do the work to get your supply match to your baby's needs! With diligence you could be off the supplements in 10-14 days. Good luck! And Keep us posted!

Last edited by @llli*djs.mom; December 15th, 2012 at 10:58 AM.
Reason: Link FAIL

Re: really frustrated and dont want to give up

Congrats on baby and welcome to the LLL forum.

OK, the AAP would strongly disagree that a 6 week old breastfed baby should be given prune juice. If baby is gaining ok, it's just normal for a breastfed baby to go several days without pooping starting around this age. If the baby is constipated, (straining and passing hard dry stools) that is almost certainly due to the formula.

I agree with both pps, there probably never was a low production issue. But I don't see a mention of weight gain or output (poops) prior to supplementing so I don't have enough info to know for sure.

I am still unclear how much overall formula baby is getting daily. The less that is, the quicker you can safely get back to nursing exclusively. Also it sounds as if you have also been doing at least a small amount of pumping (?) How much your milk supply has been affected by the suplementing is unknowable, it may not be bad at all at this point.

Re: really frustrated and dont want to give up

Originally Posted by @llli*mlkmom16

Thank you for the advice. His poop after 4 days today was peanut buttery and seedy

Well that is actually normal. And if he was EBF We could say for sure that it's no problem to not go that long at this age. So no need for prune juice. So if you feel like his still MOSTLY breastfeeding I wouldn't worry. However formula DOES cause constipation. So if you think you are topping off 50% of his feeds consider again MORE breastmilk. Which is a natural laxative. But in EBF not going poop every day is very common.